1. POLITICS IN THE GILDED AGE, 1869-1896
Chapter 23
POLITICS IN THE GILDED AGE,

2. The “Bloody Shirt” Elects Grant
Grant was immensely popular after the war
Nation was weary after war, and eager for a fresh face.
Republicans, nevertheless, enthusiastically nominate Grant
Grant is singularly unequipped to be President.

3. The “BLOODY SHIRT” Elects Grant
Democrats divided between eastern and western democrats.
Nominate Horatio Seymour
Republicans wave the “Bloody Shirt”
Republican Platform
Democrats divided over redemption of Bonds.
Grants wins easily in the electoral college, but by only 300,000 votes.
Impact of Black vote.

4. The Era Of Good Stealings
Civil War bred corruption and graft.
Causes
RR corruption
Jim Fisk and Jay Gould scheme to corner the gold market.
Boss Tweed/Tammany Hall.
Samuel Tilden.

5. A Carnival Of Corruption
Grant’s administration was riddled with corrupt officials.
Credit Mobilier scandal.
Exposed in 1872.
Members of congress censured.
Vice President implicated.
Whiskey Tax scandal.

6. Liberal Republican Revolt Of 1872
Liberal republicans were tired of corruption
Liberal Republican party.
Nominate Horace Greeley
Democrats endorse him, too. Why?
Campaign very ugly

7. Grant v. Greeley Grant wins easily, 286-66, because:
Grant is perceived to be the lesser of two evils
Democrats are still stained with fault for the Civil War.
Did lead the Republicans to clean their own house.
General amnesty Act,
lowered tariffs
Mild civil-service reform

8. Depression And Demands For Inflation
1873 severe recession hits
Causes
15,000 businesses went under.
Collapse of Jay Cooke and Co.

9. Depression And Demands For Inflation
Debtors advocate inflationary policies.
Call for more Greenbacks.
Federal government had removed one-fourth from circulation. Why?
Grant sides with conservatives and signs Resumption Act of 1875

10. Silver Debtors advocated the coinage of silver dollars.
Why?
Congress had formally dropped silver money in 1873.
Reasons
Grant rejects call to mint Silver.
Consequences of Grant’s policy

11. Bland-Allison Act Bland-Allison Act.
What does it authorize?
Why does it have little inflationary effect.
Leads to Democratic backlash in congressional elections.
Plants the seeds of the Grange

12. Pallid Politics In The Gilded Age
Balance of two political parties during the Gilded Age from
Majority in Congress flipped back and forth six times in the 11 terms between
Few controversial stands
Few dramatic policy differences between parties.
Voter turnout /voter loyalty.
Political machines and patronage

13. Republicans v. Democrats
Embodied the old Puritanical ideals.
Strict moral codes and belief that government should be an instrument in regulating economic and moral affairs of the community.
Strong in Midwest and in rural and small-town New England.
Got most of votes from Freedman and from Union Civil War Vets.

14. Republicans v. Democrats
More Roman Catholic and Lutheran.
South and northern industrial cities
Large immigrant base and strong Dem. machines.

15. Stalwarts v. Halfbreeds
Republicans had two rival factions
Stalwarts (Conklingites)
led by NY Sen. Roscoe Conkling.
Big believers in patronage.
Half-Breeds.
Led by James Blaine.
Flirted with civil service.
Consequences of this division

16. The Hayes-Tilden Standoff, 1876
Republicans dissuade Grant from running again.
Rutherford B. Hayes.
Hayes largely unknown, but a civil war officer
Also, importantly, former three-term governor of Ohio.

17. The Hayes-Tilden Standoff, 1876
Samuel Tildon.
Platform.
Attacks against Republicans.
Electoral College dispute
Reasons
Attempts to resolve
Electoral Count Act
Further compromise

18. Hayes-Tilden Disputed Election of 1876

19. End of Reconstruction Compromise was the end of reconstruction.
Literacy tests and poll taxes
Civil Rights Cases
Crop-Lien System/Share Cropping
Jim Crow Laws
Plessy v. Ferguson

20. Sharecropping

21. Tenancy & the Crop Lien System
Furnishing Merchant
Tenant Farmer
Landowner
Loan tools and seed up to 60% interest to tenant farmer to plant spring crop.
Farmer also secures food, clothing, and other necessities on credit from merchant until the harvest.
Merchant holds “lien” {mortgage} on part of tenant’s future crops as repayment of debt.
Plants crop, harvests in autumn.
Turns over up to ½ of crop to land owner as payment of rent.
Tenant gives remainder of crop to merchant in payment of debt.
Rents land to tenant in exchange for ¼ to ½ of tenant farmer’s future crop.

22. Class Conflicts And Ethnic Clashes
Strikes in the 1870s
Who wins?
Why?
Chinese in California
Dennis Kearney/Kearneyites
Chinese Exclusion Act

23. Election of 1880
Hayes administration was not very noteworthy. Did not accomplish much beyond end to reconstruction.
“Old 8-7” and “His Fraudulency.”
He did not run for reelection and wouldn’t have been renominated had he tried.

24. Republicans in 1880
Stymied by Stallwart-Halfbreed rivalry and take 35 ballots to settle on a candidate.
Chose James Garfield. Dark-Horse.
Chester Arthur, was chosen VP. Why?
Platform is for higher tariffs and (weakly) for civil service reform

25. Election of 1880 Democrats chose Winfield Hancock
Civil War General, but popular in south
Why?.
Both parties shun substantive political issues.
Garfield wins by only 40,000, but in electoral college.
He was besieged by office seekers.
Made Blain Sec. of State
Battle raging politically between Stalwarts and Half-Breeds.

26. Election of 1880

27. 1881: Garfield Assassinated!
Charles Guiteau: I Am a Stalwart, and Arthur is President now!

28. CHESTER ARTHUR TAKES COMMAND
Not many expected much from Arthur. Why?
Displayed surprising integrity, intelligence and independence.
Arthur threw his support behind reform of spoils system.
Pendleton Act of 1883
Details
Unintended consequences?

29. THE BLAINE-CLEVELAND MUDSLINGERS OF 1884
Rep. nominate Blain
Tainted with numerous rumors of scandals.
The “tattooed man”
“Mulligan letters”
Mugwumps.

30. Grover Cleveland Democrats nominate Grover Cleveland.
Reputation for reform and honesty.
Cleveland’s Bastard.
One of the ugliest campaigns in American history
New York the key state
Rum, Romanism and Rebellion

31. Election of 1884

32. First Dem. president since Buchanan Cleveland’s political philosophy
Old Grover Takes Over
First Dem. president since Buchanan
Issues raised by this?
Cleveland’s political philosophy
Last Jeffersonian Democrat?
Named two former confederates to his cabinet, helping to heal the north-south divide

33. Tariffs and Pensions
Cleveland and office seekers—fires 2/3 of federal employees
Military Pension issue
Tariffs
Country was running at a surplus because of high tariffs.
Republicans had little motivation to reduce these tariffs.
Cleveland’s two choices?
He favored reducing tariffs. Why?
Cleveland makes tariff reduction his number-one issue.
Created a real political difference between the parties just in time for the election of 1888.

34. Harrison Ousts Cleveland
Dems renominate Cleveland.
Rep. turn to Benjamin Harrison, grandson of William Henry Harrison.
Primary issue?
Republicans use fear of British against Cleveland.
Republicans raise a huge war chest. How?
Harrison wins electoral vote but loses the popular vote.

35. 1888 Presidential Election

36. Cleveland and History
Cleveland the first sitting president to be voted out of office since Van Buren in (Others: J. Adams, J.Q. Adams, Harrison, Hoover, Carter, Bush)
Cleveland last to win popular vote and lose electoral college until Gore.
Cleveland only president to have two non-consecutive terms.

37. The Republicans Return Under Harrison
Benj. Harrison in the White House.
Republicans eager for patronage.
Blaine is Secretary of State.
Teddy Roosevelt Civil Service Commission.
Republican quorum problem in the House
Speaker Thomas Reed

38. Political Gravy For All
Billion Dollar Congress
Pension Act of 1890
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Tariffs and Silver
Easterners wanted a higher tariff
Westerners and farmers wanted more silver minted

39. Tariff Ire Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 McKinley Tariff Bill
raised tariff rates to their highest peace-time level—48%
Farmers hated the new tariff. Why?
Republicans punished in 1890 congressional election.
Lose nearly 60 seats and Dems have a huge majority in Congress

40. 1892 Presidential Election
Grover Cleveland Benjamin Harrison again! * (DEM) (REP)

41. Populists Populists emerge as a potent third party. Populist Agenda:
Officially the People’s Party
Nominate James B. Weaver
Populist Agenda:
free and unlimited coinage of silver at the ratio of sixteen to one
graduated income tax
Gov’t ownership of telephone, telegraph and RR
direct election of US senators
one-term limit on presidency
use of the initiative and referendum to allow citizens to propose and review legislation.
Shorter work day-to appeal to labor
restriction on immigration—to appeal to labor

42. Populists Labor is mad and are ripe for wooing by Populists.
Homestead strike
Populists poll over one-million votes and become one of the few third parties to win electoral votes
Populists problems with Blacks
Grandfather Clause

43. 1892 Presidential Election

44. OLD GROVER CLEVELAND AGAIN
Depression of 1893
Causes:
Over-building and over-speculation
labor unrest
agricultural depression from low commodity prices
reduction of US credit abroad because of Silver Purchase Act
Problems with overseas banks, which were forced to call in US loans.
Cleveland does next to nothing— laissez faire

45. Gold Problem
Treasury was running a deficit because of the Silver Purchase Act. Reasons
Cleveland saw no choice but to repeal the Silver Purchase Act.
William Jennings Bryan
Cleveland forced to issue bonds to raise money in order to buy gold
J.P. Morgan deal
Public reaction

46. DEMOCRATIC TARIFF TINKERING
McKinley Tariff causes deficit
Democrats propose bill to reduce tariff but add income tax
Senate tacks on lots of provisions to help special interests.
Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act of 1894.
Cleveland refused to sign it, but can’t veto.
Supreme Court throws out income tax
Public opinion hates the bill and blame Dems.
Democrats hammered in 1894 mid-term election.